“Outtakes” is back with another installment about all things pop culture. This week, I want to focus my attention on The Other Two, which finally returned with its long-awaited sophomore season at the end of August. Since then, my Twitter timeline has been flooded with various memes and “I feel seen” reactions. And I couldn’t be happier!
Created by former Saturday Night Live head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, the series tells the story of two siblings, Cary (Drew Tarver) and Brooke (Heléne Yorke), struggling to make it in New York while their teenage brother, Chase (Case Walker), catapults to fame after going viral on the internet.
Ahead of its debut on HBO Max, I spoke to Kelly, Schneider, Tarver and Yorke about season two, which ups the ante by having Cary and Brooke’s mother, Pat (Molly Shannon), landing a hugely popular daytime talk show.
“We wanted to stay true to our characters and to the tone of the show, but we didn’t want to do the same thing over again,” Schneider said, referring to Cary and Brooke’s antics that followed Chase’s instafame. “So this season, their mom has her hit daytime talk show, and they’re sort of the other two to her.”
Now that the series is if halfway through its second season, I wanted to share some additional highlights from my conversations, especially as it relates to episodes four through six.
Chris Meloni’s Underwear and the Skewering of Gay Culture
The one thing that makes The Other Two so brilliant—and a welcome entry to TV’s queer canon—is the way that the series comments on gay fandom, especially the community’s fascinations with certain celebrities, like Laura Dern as well as Justin Theroux and Christopher Meloni, both of whom were subjects of various jokes in season one.
When it specifically comes to Meloni, Cary reveals in a series of awkward confessions that he once sniffed the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star’s underwear only to find out it didn’t belong to him. At the time, the joke felt like a deep cut for longtime fans of America’s ass, which was on prominent display in the HBO prison drama, Oz. But ahead of season two, it felt just as relevant as ever when Meloni returned to the Law & Order franchise with the Organized Crime spinoff and sparked renewed interest in his greatest asset.
“We’re real trendsetters,” Schneider joked before Kelly chimed in. “I wouldn’t even really refer to that as the Christopher Meloni joke. I think it was a dramatic confession,” he said. “I remember when I was young I would sneak down and watch Oz while my parents were sleeping and being like, ‘Oh my God.’”
While Meloni is not shouted out, Cary’s confessions are referenced in a wonderfully funny call back that opens a religious-themed episode five.
Behind the Return of That Instagay
The skewering isn’t limited to stans, with the series also taking on various queer subcultures, including brooding gays staring into a fireplace and the thirst traps of Instagram.
In season one, Cary attempts to befriend a group of Instagays, attractive gay men with millions of followers on Instagram, so that he can boost his presence on the platform and land a role in a new season of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story (which is back with a third installment about the 1998 impeachment). And at least one of them, Cameron Colby (Jimmy Fowlie), makes a welcome return in episode four.
“When we talked about things that we might bring back from first season that was one. We wanted to see what the season two of the Instagays would be; what the evolution of Cameron Colby would be,” Schneider shared, before gushing over Fowlie’s performance in season one. “We thought all of the Instagays were so funny, especially Jimmy, who made that character so specific and weird. We loved him.”
This time around, Cary encounters Cameron during a weekend getaway outside the city. Instead of being flocked by his group of gays, Cameron has changed his brand and is now flipping houses with his husband while documenting it all on Instagram.
Later, at the mere suggestion that he and his boyfriend Jess (Gideon Glick, who has the most expressive face on TV) give it a go as “Cuddle Boys,” Cary goes into a tailspin and fears that he’s missing out on life as a single man. “He just happened to helpfully play a good foil where Cary was at in life,” Schneider said of Cameron, who has fully embraced his sponsored lifestyle with his husband whereas Cary freaks out at the idea of commitment.
Although he “feels like he’s making strides and trying to figure out how to be an adult and switch up his love life to be a little more healthy,” Tarver said, it’s not enough to make him stay in the relationship. (A decision I hope he regrets so that we can see more of Glick on the series.)
Finally, a Few Comments About Brooke and Lance
If there’s one straight romance I’m fully invested in, it’s between Brooke and Lance (Josh Segarra, a charming, attractive actor who simultaneously stormed Broadway as Emilio Estefan in On Your Feet! and challenged Meloni’s ass with a clutch scene in Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck in 2015).
While the on-and-off-again couple ended things apart in season one, Brooke’s ex unexpectedly appears in the premiere much to her chagrin. Thankfully, Lance’s brief scene wasn’t his last.
In episode six, Brooke finds herself reunited with her ex when they’re both nominated for Variety’s “30 Under 30” issue. While Brooke initially rejects being tabled with Lance, the two reconnect long enough for her to remember why they were great together—and to also recognize that she’s okay with the fact that he’s moved on.
“You get to this place where you think, ‘Oh, I can have better than this thing that naturally works. Surely there’s something sparkly out there,’” Yorke said of the pair, noting how Brooke thinks that she’s better than Lance.
However, York explained, Lance is “somebody that really knows you; somebody who understands your life, knows your family, knows how to connect. And isn’t blinded by fame or notoriety or success in any way. Those are all just bonuses to his already happy existence.”
And despite his new romance, there’s something about Brooke and Lance that feels unfinished. So again, I hope that it’s a story we pick up again later this season, even if there are only four episodes left.
Quick Takes
Here are a few interviews worth checking out:
Harvey Guillén on Playing a Bolder, More Confident Guillermo in 'WWDITS' Season 3 (This is a convo I plan to revisit again later this season)
Leslie Grossman on Playing Ursula and How the 'AHS: Double Feature' Parts Will Connect
Inside Netflix's Docuseries Following Civilians Into Space (The launch is slated for Sept. 15)
Colman Domingo on His Jack Nicholson Moment in 'Candyman' and 'Euphoria' Season 2